The Machine Stops

The Machine Stops is considered Forster's masterwork of Dystopian short fiction, a cautionary tale for all of us who can no longer imagine a world without the Internet and smartphones. It was first published in 1909 in the Oxford and Cambridge Review. Though considered a short story, we've featured it here as a novella since it has three distinct parts. Featured in our guide to Science Fiction. [Illustration at right is a Universal Projectoscope, Gage & Gage's book about moving picture machines, 1914.]